An early-morning fire claimed the life of a 58-year-old man Friday and destroyed a home in South Jackson along the 2700 block of Maddox Road.
Edgar Grayson died in the fire.
Investigators said preliminary reports show the fire may have started after Grayson got too close to a space heater and caught his clothes on fire.
"It's a great loss. You know everyone's time is going to come -- we all going to see these days. He's really going to be missed," nephew Harvey Ford said.
Ford said the house on Maddox Road has been home to his family for years.
"This house has a lot of history -- a lot of families come through here -- and we hate to see it burnt down like this," he said.
Grayson's sister, Eloise, and her son, Lavonne Robinson, also lived at the house. A relative who lives next door pulled both of them to safety through a window and then called 911.
Fire investigators told 16 WAPT that the initial call to report the house fire went to the county, but it was eventually routed to the Jackson Fire Department.
Once the department got the call, it took them six minutes to get to the burning home, but by then it was too late to save the house or Grayson.
"We want to look at why this call went to the county, although the county did respond, but in every fire, minutes count, and I need to make sure there was no delay between the county and the city when they responded out here," chief fire investigator Vernon Hughes said.
Grayson's sister and her son are recovering at the Baptist Hospital. Family members said they are both listed in good condition.
